Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

The Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati was founded in December of 1907 with the purpose of assisting the poor and indigent with legal services and advocating for legislation to help the poor. Important legislative efforts of the Society include anti-loan sharking in the 1910s, controls on installment buying and wage garnishments in the 1930s and 1940s, and improving conditions in the Cincinnati Correctional Institute and equal employment for African Americans with the Cincinnati Firefighters Division in the 1970s. The Society has also created a number of programs to further efforts in assisting the poor including a Legal Interne program for new attorneys, a Legal Aid Clinic, and a public defender program.

Several changes to the organization of the Society occurred in the late 20th century. The Public Defender Division was eliminated in 1980, and since that time, the Legal Aid Society has only handled civil cases. The Society expanded services in the late 1990s and joined with the Butler Warren Legal Assistance Association to become the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. In 2004, the Legal Aid Society expanded again and began offering services to residents of Clinton and Highland Counties in Ohio.

For a complete history of the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati see Charles F. Casey-Leininger, To Secure Justice and Protect the Rights of the Needy: A History of the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati, 1908-1988, Cincinnati: Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, 2008.